THE DEATH OF PRINT JOURNALISM: BILLIE CLUB EDITION

With her debut album yet to drop, Darkroom/Interscope’s teen phenom Billie Eilish, who graces the cover of our most recent print edition, is already a gigantic force in the marketplace—and in pop culture. Eilish’s out-of-the-box success is a dream come true for the young artist and her team, though appearing on the cover of our sleepy rag is more like a nightmare.

Contents page VIP Sir Lucian Grainge’s marketshare romp continues, with streaming domination vouchsafed by his holy trinity of labels, Interscope, Republic and Capitol. UMG’s valuation has skyrocketed of late—amid rumors of a partial sale by parent Vivendi—and the latest stats will no doubt stoke the flames still higher. As documented in the new book The Final Days of EMI: Selling the Pig, Sir Lucian laid the foundation for his empire back in 2011, when he outmaneuvered his rivals to swoop in and grab the company he prized—a genius move by a guy who’s convincingly portrayed as the smartest guy in the room. But he’ll likely take far less pleasure from appearing in the pages of our sorry excuse for a trade mag.